Tierseuche - Swine Fever in Three New Facilities - Crisis Team
After the outbreak of African Swine Fever in the district of Groß-Gerau in June, the disease has now been detected in three additional farms in this area. While the federal and state governments are discussing further containment measures, hunters in Südhessen have been heavily demanded.
The farmers affected in the Groß-Gerau district each keep 9, 33, and 158 domestic pigs, one of them also approximately 50 wild pigs in a pen, according to the Hessian Ministry of Agriculture in Wiesbaden.
All pig-raising farms in the region are currently being urged by authorities to examine their herds daily for diseases and report them to the veterinary office of the district. This has also been done in the three new cases. The state laboratory confirmed all suspicion cases, according to the ministry.
Culling of Wild Pigs with Firearms
"As for how the virus entered the herds, no statement can currently be made. The investigations of the experts at the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute (FLI) are still ongoing", it was further stated. In addition to the domestic pigs, the wild pigs of the affected farms are being culled by a special company: "Unlike with domestic pigs, here, hunting with the use of a firearm is being employed."
A large-scale autopsy with dogs and drones is being carried out by the Ministry of Agriculture to determine a so-called core area of the incident and a restriction zone. Electrified fences around the core area are intended to prevent the wandering of infected or sick animals outward. "In the foreseeable future, a permanent enclosure will also be set up around the core area", the ministry added. Approximately 17,000 hectares have already been searched, and 64 positive cases have been discovered so far.
Info Campaign for Tourists
State Secretary Silvia Bender of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture announced the start of an information campaign in summer tourist traffic at motorway rest stops to sensitize people to the topic. "Even a carelessly discarded sausage slice can be enough, because the virus can also be imported via infected food", Bender emphasized.
The federal government and the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute are supporting the states in investigations or coordinating measures with the EU. The Central Crisis Management Team for Animal Diseases was convened on Thursday to share knowledge and discuss further action, according to the Federal Ministry. Members of this committee are the heads of the ministries of the federal and state governments. For wild and domestic pigs, the disease is not curable and usually fatal. For humans and other animal species, it is harmless - even if infected meat is consumed, according to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture.
Kadaver search dogs in use
The spokesman for the Hessian Hunting Association, Markus Stifter, told the German Press Agency that the wild pig population is being monitored with wildlife cameras and searched for dead animals with around 50 trained cadaver search dog teams. In addition, farmers are being supported in their harvest - the main harvesting season, however, is coming to an end.
At present, around 20 drones are still in use daily in the fields, as the areas to be harvested must be flown over by a thermal drone on the same day, the speaker explained. This is to prevent living or dead wild boars from being present in the fields. Wild boar carcasses could contaminate the grain with the virus, possibly infected animals could be driven away and spread the disease.
Gory Death
"We are active on various levels to combat this terrible disease with all available means and limit it locally," confirmed the spokesperson of the hunting association. "It is almost unbearable to see how the wild boars are dying in such a gruesome way." Farmers with pig farming were also suffering heavily, some farms might be on the brink of bankruptcy. Stifter appealed to the citizens for understanding, for example for the fencing requirement. This is important in the fight against the virus, even though swine fever does not pose a danger to humans and domestic animals.
- The outbreak of African Swine Fever in Wiesbaden's district of Groß-Gerau has led to discussions between the federal and state governments about further containment measures.
- The authorities in Southern Hesse are urging all pig-raising farms in the region to examine their herds daily for diseases and report any findings to the veterinary office.
- Three additional farms in the Groß-Gerau district have been affected by African Swine Fever, with one farmer keeping approximately 50 wild pigs in a pen.
- The state laboratory has confirmed all suspicion cases of African Swine Fever in the three new cases, according to the Hessian Ministry of Agriculture.
- A special company is responsible for culling the wild pigs of the affected farms in Groß-Gerau using firearms, as opposed to domestic pigs.
- The Ministry of Agriculture is conducting a large-scale autopsy using kadaver search dogs and drones to determine a core area of the incident and a restriction zone.
- State Secretary Silvia Bender of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture has announced an information campaign for tourists to raise awareness about the potential danger of the African Swine Fever virus.
- The Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute is supporting the states in investigations or coordinating measures with the EU in response to the African Swine Fever outbreak.
- Markus Stifter, the spokesman for the Hessian Hunting Association, has acknowledged the use of wildlife cameras and cadaver search dog teams to monitor the wild pig population and search for dead animals.
